How do I host a VPN server on a Mac?

If you want to be able to access your Mac computer remotely, or want to connect to a network not commonly accessible outside of your home or office, you can do so by setting up and hosting a VPN server directly on your Mac. This tutorial will show you how to set up a VPN server on macOS High Sierra 10.13.

First, open the “System Preferences” application from the  Apple menu and click on the “Network” icon. Then select the “+” button in the lower left-hand corner and choose “VPN” for the interface type. Choose “L2TP over IPsec” for the VPN Type and give your service a name like “Mac mini VPN.” Be sure that the “Configuration:” drop-down menu is set to “” before clicking “Create.”

Next, open the newly created VPN connection and enter your server’s public IP address or hostname under both the “Server Address:” and “Account Name:” fields. Leave all other fields blank and click “Authentication Settings” In the ensuing sheet, check off both boxes next to “Shared Secret” so that secret appears in both text boxes below it. Create a shared secret by entering any phrase here—just make sure it is something only you and authorized users know!

Back on the main Network window, click on “+” again and select either Wi-Fi or Ethernet (depending on how your Mac is connected to the internet) from the interface list. Give this new service a unique name like “Mac mini VPN Client” so it’s easy to remember which one is which later. Click ‘Create’ once more.
Now go back into System Preferences > Network > Advanced For both configurations (VPN Server & Client), click on their corresponding TCP/IP tabs then click ‘Configure IPv6:’ drop-down menus and select ‘Off.’ Returning to eachService’sGeneral tab, check off respective ‘Send All Traffic Over VPN Connection’ boxes before clicking OK at bottom right of window; now close out of System Preferences altogether

If you need to set up a VPN server on your Mac, there are a few steps you’ll need to follow. First, you’ll need to enable the “VPN Server” feature in your Mac’s System Preferences. To do this, open System Preferences and click on the “Network” icon. Then, select the “VPN Server” option in the list of options on the left side of the window.

Once you’ve enabled the VPN Server feature, you’ll need to choose a protocol for your server. The most common protocols are PPTP and L2TP/IPSec. To choose a protocol, click on the “Advanced” button in the VPN Server window. Then, select the protocol you want to use from the drop-down menu next to “Configure.”

After you’ve chosen a protocol, you’ll need to configure your server settings. To do this, click on the “Settings” button in the VPN Server window. In this section, you’ll be able to specify which ports will be used for incoming connections, as well as what IP address range will be used for outgoing connections. You can also specify whether or not clients will be able to access shared folders on your Mac while they’re connected to your VPN server.

Once you’ve finished configuring your settings, click on the “OK” button at the bottom ofthe window. Then, click onthe “Apply”button at th ebottom right corner o fthe System Preferenceswindow . Your server is now ready touse!


Worth knowing

Yes, you can absolutely host a VPN on AWS! There are a few different ways to go about this, but we’ll outline the most common method below.

First, you’ll need to set up an Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). This will give you a dedicated virtual network in the cloud where you can launch AWS resources. You can think of it kind of like your own private mini-AWS within the greater AWS ecosystem. Once you have your VPC set up, you’ll need to create an Internet Gateway and attach it to your VPC. This will allow communication between your VPC and the internet at large.

Now that you have connectivity established, it’s time to set up your VPN server. For this, we recommend using Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). EC2 is a cloud computing service that provides resizable virtual servers in the cloud. You can launch as many or as few EC2 instances as you need, making it easy to scale your VPN server up or down as needed.

When configuring your EC2 instance, be sure to select a security group that allows incoming traffic on port 500 (IPsec) and 4500 (UDP). You’ll also need to generate a public/private key pair for use with IPsec. Finally, configure your EC2 instance with the appropriate IP addresses and subnet masks for both your internal network and the Amazon side of things.

At this point, you should have everything in place to start hosting your VPN on AWS! If you run into any trouble along the way, Amazon has excellent documentation on setting up VPNs using their services


Worth knowing

If you’re a Mac user, you may be wondering how to start VPN on your device. Luckily, it’s easy to do! All you need is a VPN app and an account with a VPN provider. We’ll walk you through the process step by step so that you can be up and running in no time.

First, you’ll need to choose a VPN provider. There are many options available, so take some time to research which one will best meet your needs. Once you’ve found a provider that looks good to you, sign up for an account.

Next, download the VPN app from your provider’s website or the App Store. Once the app is installed, open it and log in with your new account credentials.

Now it’s time to connect to a server. Select a location from the list of options and click “connect.” That’s all there is to it! Your Mac will now be protected by the VPN whenever you’re connected to that server.


Worth knowing

Assuming you have Homebrew installed, simply run:

`brew install openvpn`

If you don’t have Homebrew, first install it following the instructions at https://brew.sh/.

Once OpenVPN is installed, you can use one of the many available configuration files. For example, to connect to a remote server at 192.168.1.1 using the UDP protocol on port 1194, you would use a config file like this:

“`client

dev tun

proto udp

remote 192.168.1.1 1194

resolv-retry infinite

nobind

persist-key

persist-tun

ca ca.crt # (optional) if your VPN requires client authentication cipher AES-256-CBC # If your server uses a different encryption method, change it here auth SHA256 # This must be changed to “sha512” if your server uses that algorithm comp-lzo # (optional) for data compression verb 3 # (optional) controls debugging output; increase for more verbose logging“`

Thank your for reading!